The Torchwood Institute was founded by Queen Anne following an encounter with [[the Doctor]], in which she was nearly killed by an alien werewolf. The institute was granted the resources of the Torchwood Estate, the lord of which was killed in the incident.

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The Torchwood Institute was founded by Queen Anne following an encounter with [[the Doctor]], in which she was nearly killed by an alien "werewolf". The institute was granted the resources of the Torchwood Estate, the lord of which was killed in the incident.

Little is known about the organization between its founding and the 21st century, but by 2005, it had acquired enough alien technology to build a beam weapon capable of shooting down an alien starship.

Little is known about the organization between its founding and the 21st century, but by 2005, it had acquired enough alien technology to build a beam weapon capable of shooting down an alien starship.